PS3 + Netflix = 1080i content!

[Jobydrone]

Good news for NEtflix subscribers with PS3s:

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/10/netflix-ps3-streaming-app-adds-hd-surround-sound-ditches-disc/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GearFactor+%28Blog+-+Gadget+Lab+%28Gear+Factor%29%29

Netflix PS3 App Ditches Disc, Adds HD and Surround Sound
By Tim Carmody  October 14, 2010  |  12:38 pm  |  Categories: Media Players PlayStation 3 just leapfrogged Xbox 360 and snagged the best Netflix experience on a videogame console yet.

The new Netflix application for PS3, rolling out for download Monday, will enable Netflix subscribers with PS3s to watch movies and TV without a disc. Some titles will even stream in 1080i HD and 5.1 digital surround sound.

Netflix's "Watch Instantly" streaming-video feature has been available for PS3 since late last year, but it required a Blu-ray disc in order to access the service. Now, by running Watch Instantly as a native PS3 app on the console, users can ditch the disc altogether. Netflix also has a new user interface, optimized for the PS3 controller's analog joysticks.

In the new UI, search especially seems smartly designed for the PS3 controller, using an alphabetical grid and intelligent auto-complete to minimize the pain of text entry, as seen in this still:

Still from Sony PS3 promotional video.
I even like the way the controller buttons control common text-entry commands in context — like Space, Delete and Enter. There are keyboards available for PS3, but being able to use the controller well is a real asset.

Netflix has not only continued to bring its streaming service to seemingly every device with a screen, but to make that service better. Still, among consoles, the announced PS3 app stands out: Xbox users don't have 1080i or surround sound, and Wii users have only now added search to their service, which still requires an "Instant Streaming" disc.

Adding media services has become part of the continued rivalry between Xbox and PS3, along with new motion-capture interaction devices like PlayStation's Move controller and Xbox's Kinect.

Besides videogame consoles, Netflix can now stream to personal computers on Windows and Mac; TiVo, HD, Roku, Logitech and Apple TV boxes; Windows Phone 7 and all iOS devices; and a wide array of net-connected TVs and Blu-Ray players, including those using Google TV.

Roku's players, which began as Netflix-only boxes, will soon be available in retail stores through a partnership with Netgear.



Read More http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/10/netflix-ps3-streaming-app-adds-hd-surround-sound-ditches-disc/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GearFactor+%28Blog+-+Gadget+Lab+%28Gear+Factor%29%29#ixzz12SLSJSaw

[Rico]

WOW!  That's pretty awesome!  I need to bring my PS3 back with me to Rockford on my next trip home.

[Jobydrone]

I've corrected the title of my post to read PS3 + Netflix = 1080i.  I wouldn't want any of the HD purists out there to string me up over the difference between P and I.